<html><head><title>Director, Predictive Modeling - Rockville, MD</title></head>
<body><h2>Director, Predictive Modeling - Rockville, MD</h2>
<p>In the hospitality industry, people matter.
</p><p></p><p>That's why here at Choice we're always looking for exceptional people - people who will challenge us, make our team stronger, smarter and more complete. People who know how to roll up their sleeves and tackle the job at hand; who go the extra mile to get the job done - and done well.
</p><p></p><p>At Choice we are looking for employees to connect the world through the power of hospitality - and we offer support, training and a collaborative workplace atmosphere that makes us a great place to bring together people, brands, and technology that enable success.
</p><p>Who are we looking for? Maybe it's you.
</p><p></p><p><b>The role…
</b></p><p>Choice Hotels is seeking a Director of Data Science &amp; Predictive Modeling to help us leverage predictive analytics techniques to address key business questions in support of corporate initiatives. This role will support data &amp; analytics innovation efforts across the Enterprise, including, but not limited to: Marketing, Loyalty, Revenue Management, Global Sales, Franchise Sales, Franchise Service, and Brands.
</p><p></p><p>This Data Science &amp; Predictive Modeling expert will also lead Choice’s predictive analytics “center of excellence” to drive strategic and competitive advantage for Choice. This includes empowering others around the development of statistical modeling to enhance strategic and operating business decisions. This also includes testing new modeling tools such as machine learning capabilities within a new environment.
</p><p></p><p>Additionally, this leader will drive Choice upgrades of its own data analytics infrastructure, ensuring that (DAP) data analytics platform can meet future state needs for predictive analytics. They will be expected to proactively provide guidance on ingestion of new big data sources that can improve modeling effectiveness.
</p><p></p><p><b>What you will do…
</b></p><ul><li>Lead the execution of modeling initiatives that drive key decisions and insights across the enterprise. Work closely with Business Analytics to address strategic and operational needs across the enterprise with statistical models such as:
<ul><li>Customer level propensity modeling in support of Marketing and Loyalty efforts</li><li>Hotel level propensity modeling to determine what hotels are best suited for specific initiatives</li><li>Bottom up forecasting of key performance metrics for the enterprise</li><li>Determining drivers of overall hotel performance based on market factors, product quality, and Choice initiative participation</li><li>Ensure forecast accuracy for enterprise wide pricing optimization model</li><li>Site level predictions for hotel development, to prioritize markets and opportunities for new hotels</li></ul></li><li>Lead data ingestion efforts from third parties including Experian data, Moody’s, Hotel Compete, and Dun &amp; Bradstreet. Working with the Data Development team, drive the ingestion of new 3rd party sources to improve model effectiveness and business insights</li><li>Manage model updates to existing predictive models on a regular (frequency depends on use case of the original model) basis to account for changes to Choice’s business dynamics. Drive operationalization of new predictive models in conjunction with the Data Development team</li><li>Lead efforts to move the Predictive Modeling “Center of Excellence” forward. Establish a data science innovation roadmap that connects new tools &amp; methodologies with Choice’s short- &amp; long-term corporate objectives. Coaching and mentoring of junior team members who are executing on predictive models. Ensure that requirements for predictive analytics capabilities are incorporated into Choice’s new data analytics infrastructure, with focus on current capabilities as well as new capabilities, like machine learning and embedding model outputs into interactive data visualizations. Perform testing of existing models and development of new models in new environment</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Skills you have…
</b></p><ul><li>MBA or other advanced degree preferably in a quantitative discipline (Statistics, Operations Research, Mathematics, etc.)</li><li>8-10 years of analytical experience is required with a strong background in the development of statistical models including segmentation, cluster and principal component analysis, time series analysis, predictive modeling, including linear and generalized linear models, decision trees, neural networks and non-linear models</li><li>Proficient in SAS, R, and SQL. Knowledge of Hadoop and Apache Spark a plus</li><li>Experience with Adobe suite (particularly Analytics, Audience Manager, Test and Target) as a plus</li><li>Must be an energized self-starter who can work independently and who drives for results</li><li>Ability to evaluate business trends and develop successful solutions that enhance business performance</li><li>Has strong intellectual curiosity</li><li>Ability to balance creativity with pragmatic business considerations</li><li>Strategic thinker - processes information through a strategic lens and applies tenants of systems thinking to issues / assignments; ability to balance strategic thinking into idea execution</li><li>Active learner – able to enhance personal, professional and business growth through new knowledge and experiences; pushes the organization to learn from other industries’ standards and practices</li><li>Results oriented; delivers results under difficult conditions and demonstrates balanced judgment under pressure</li><li>Good communication skills – includes oral (one on one and presentations to large audiences) and written</li><li>Effectively partner with other parts of the Performance Analytics team to ensure integrated and timely insights to the enterprise</li><li>Some management experience is preferred, including the ability to effectively coach &amp; mentor more junior team members.<br/></li></ul><p></p><p>Ability to model Choice’s Cultural Values: Welcome and Respect Everyone, Be Bold, Be Quick, Listen, Be Curious and Show Integrity.</p></body>
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